Lebanon News and World News Live from Beirut

ON THE face of it, voting has never been easier in Bahrain. Citizens can use a smartphone app to register to vote in the parliamentary elections on November 22nd, and ballot boxes have been organised for citizens abroad. But it will be a skewed event with a pre-ordained result: while the government is laying on […]

At least five candidates are vying to become “prime minister” of a government Syria’s opposition plans to create to administer rebel-held territory, a member of the Syrian National Council said on Tuesday.

John Kerry, the new US secretary of state, appeared to have avoided a major embarrassment after the leadership of the Syrian opposition said it would attend a US-backed conference aimed at addressing the rapidly-deteriorating situation in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in London on Monday that continued violence inSyria represented further evidence that it was time for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to relinquish his post and condemned recent violence against civilians. Speaking alongside Kerry, Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague called for support for Syria’s opposition to be increased significantly

Beirut, Lebanon — Fledgling efforts to promote peace talks in the Syrian conflict appear to have stalled, even as the death toll rises daily and the rebellion nears its second anniversary. The major exile opposition group, irate over what it calls a “shameful” global silence about the bloodshed, has announced that it will not attend […]

Syria’s opposition leaders have turned their back on international talks, saying the world’s failure to stop the violence is “shameful”. In advance of another round of meetings over the crisis – namely, the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome and scheduled talks in Russia and the US – the opposition leaders have said they will […]

The Syrian National Coalition opposition group is ready to negotiate a departure for President Bashar al-Assad with any member of his government who has not participated in the crackdown on the uprising

The regime of President Bashar Assad has shown no signs of giving in even as opposition fighters have advanced to the outskirts of Damascus. In an interview with Susanne Koelbl of SPIEGEL ONLINE, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad blames the West for the violence and says Assad has satisfied all opposition demands.

The dire humanitarian situation in Syria has compelled the Syrian opposition to accept dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, opposition leader, Moaz al-Khatib, told Al Arabiya on Monday. While the opposition accepted dialogue with the Syrian regime based on the condition that President Assad must cede power, Khatib said that “the Syrian humanitarian suffering and […]

Syria’s opposition leader flew back to his Cairo headquarters from Germany on Sunday to explain to skeptical allies his decision to talk with President Bashar al-Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran, in hope of a breakthrough in the crisis. The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden,